Author:
Corey McCullough is an independent copy editor, proofreader, ghostwriter, and author. He lives in western Pennsylvania with his amazing wife Vanessa and their two beautiful daughters. His favorite pastimes are reading, writing, playing video games, spending time with his best friend (Vanessa), and, most of all, being a dad.

A teenager’s wish to escape his stressful life just came true — with otherworldly consequences.

Nothing is going right for Justin Holmes. Like many seventeen-year-olds, he sometimes wishes he could just run away and leave everything behind. But he gets more than he bargained for when he storms out of the house after an argument with his father and accidentally steps into a parallel universe of swords, shields, magic, and monsters.

Suddenly, Justin is desperate to find a way back to his ordinary life in small-town America. His search for answers takes an unexpected turn when a strange old man and a powerful mercenary recruit him to rescue a kidnapped princess. But their rescue mission quickly takes a disastrous turn and becomes a life-or-death flight deep into the unknown wilds. Justin and his unlikely allies are on the run from dark forces wielding deadly, arcane power — demonic beings that seem to have suddenly arrived from somewhere beyond this world . . . just like Justin.

Justin may not be a fighter, but he is intelligent and strong-willed. He soon realizes that nothing in this world is what it seems. Even his allies’ mission may have all been a ruse . . . to get to him.

Ancient secrets are revealed that could shake the foundations of this alternate world . . . and might unlock Justin’s portal home.

The Fallen Odyssey is a contemporary portal fantasy novel for college and “new adult” audiences. It is the first of a trilogy but can be enjoyed as a stand-alone novel. If you like epic, serious fantasy about dangerous quests in magical worlds, check out The Fallen Odyssey.

The Fallen Odyssey

One second, he was sound asleep. The next, he was slammed to the floor on his back with the wind knocked out of him. When Justin gained his wits, he realized he was pinned to the ground. The tip of a sword was pointing at his throat.


"Where is your sword?" Zechariah demanded, letting the blade touch Justin's neck.


"Are you freaking crazy-?" Justin choked out.


Justin glanced sidelong at his sheathed weapons at the foot of the bed.


"Right there," Justin said, gesturing with this chin.


Zechariah turned in an exaggerated fashion. "All the way over there, eh? Tell me, Justin. What is the purpose of a weapon?"


"The purpose of a weapon is to defend yourself. Understand?"


Justin nodded quickly. It was hard to think with sharpened steel inches from his jugular vein.


"So, if the purpose of a weapon is to defend yourself, why is yours all the way over there?"


Chapter 37: The Trapped People (Part 3)